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Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Michael Carney has been writing professionally since he was 17, which was a long time ago in a galaxy not so far away. He began his writing career straight from high school, writing radio advertisements for a bright and shiny new radio station in the glorious South Island of New Zealand (only a few hours drive from that wonderful scenery made famous by Sir Peter Jackson in 'Lord of the Rings' and, latterly, 'The Hobbit').

In the decades since, Michael has carved out a career in advertising and marketing, as a copywriter, Media Director, Strategic Planning Director and Online Marketing specialist. These days he writes and administers online training courses covering a range of Social Media Marketing and eCommerce topics at http://NetmarketingCourses.com.

In addition to writing a towering inferno of newsletters, reports and presentations Michael is the author of "Trade Me Success Secrets" (first and second editions), the top-selling book about NZ's online auction site Trade Me. In his spare time, Michael has also written (and mostly directed) a number of well-received stage plays over the years, some aimed at children and young adults, others produced for Christian audiences. Michael has been planning out the exploits of the OUTCAST ANGELS for many years.

Q&A with the Author:

5.What is your favorite part of writing?

Plotting. I tend to plot out each beat of the story, typically write a line to encapsulate each scene. Then I work my way through the story turning each line into a chapter. [It’s a lot tougher to do than it is to describe!]

6.Do you have any advice for other writers?

Persevere. Whatever you’re writing, you’ll come to a place that seems impenetrable. If you can’t see another way through, then start on the other side of the barrier and write forward from that. Eventually, you’ll be able to backfill and solve the problem.

Do You Love Epic Fantasy Tales of Angels and Demons, Laced With A Hint of Alchemy? Then Check Out ACADEMY OF SECRETS!

It’s the year 1610. The world is in grave danger if a long-missing artifact falls into the hands of the Academy of Secrets, a group whose members have gained unnatural powers through alchemy. And Chrymos, a young woman with a mysterious past, may hold the key.

For Chrymos, scrabbling out a wretched living on the streets of Renaissance Naples, the Academy represents a chance to gain special powers and make a difference in the world. But can she leave behind all the people that she cares about?

And what about the OUTCAST ANGELS, a ragtag group of former angels exiled from Heaven at the time of the Great Rebellion, who are desperately trying to stop the Academy? They face an uphill battle against alchemy-enhanced humans who can become invisible, cast illusions and create storms and tornadoes.

Will the Academy recover the missing artifact? What part will Chrymos play? And will the prophecies of the demon Nekhbet -- that the artifact's recovery will trigger the Lost War -- come true? Find out in this fast-paced historical fantasy thriller set in Late Renaissance Italy.

ACADEMY OF SECRETS is the first novel in the LOST WAR Chronicles, part of the OUTCAST ANGELS book series by MICHAEL CARNEY.

For those who love Christian fantasy, historical fantasy adventure, epic fantasy, sword & sorcery, tales of great battles and continuing warfare between angels and demons.

“Don’t let her escape!” shouted Henricus, as he watched the young woman scrambling across the badly-damaged top floor of a derelict building in the residential quarter of Naples. Several of the Alchemae, Academy graduates with enhanced powers, rushed after her. A handful of hired thugs, whose not-so-unique talent was primarily brute force, joined in the chase.

The two groups were effectively herding the young woman towards the most unstable corner of the building, where large sections of the floor had collapsed into the darkness below. Even Girardus, whose acrobatic abilities were unmatched, proceeded carefully across this hazardous surface.

The woman suddenly checked her headlong flight—not because of any concerns about the void into which she might have plunged, but rather because a ten-foot-tall, double-headed monster had just blocked her path. This terrifying creature—conjured up by the Alchemae’s master of illusion, Apollinaris—breathed out great torrents of flame. Its two heads—on the left a hissing serpent, on the right a snarling lion—were poised, apparently ready to strike the woman at any moment.

“Excellent,” Henricus remarked to his Academy colleague, Zulian, “Apollinaris has outdone himself tonight. His latest creation looks like a cross between a hydra and a chimera, if I remember my Greek mythology correctly.”

Henricus and Zulian stood on the far side of the building, close to a bonfire which the Academy’s men had lit earlier in the evening with the goal of attracting the lazzaroni, Naples’ teeming masses of beggars, poor and homeless. It was a cold, wet night and the bonfire had proven an effective lure. Unfortunately, as Zulian’s nose told him only too clearly, the lazzaroni might be better described as the non lavato, the unwashed. He could smell their choking stench everywhere, especially as the bonfire liberated the odors from their wet clothing. Zulian, for one, hoped that this recruitment mission would swiftly conclude so that he could escape the horrific smell.

When the Academy’s trap was sprung, several of the lazzaroni had drawn their swords—only priests or the most wretched of paupers would go around unarmed in seventeenth century Europe—but the supernatural powers of the Academy’s enhanced had quickly discouraged any significant opposition. Some had sought to run but only the young woman had successfully eluded the Academy’s grasp. It seemed, however, that her freedom would be short-lived.

“She’s trapped,” smirked Zulian, “nowhere to run. Even if she has the nerve to get past Apollinaris’s monster, she’d be crazy to try to jump the gap—it’s a very long way down. We’ve caught her now.”

And so it seemed, until their quarry appeared to notice that the creature in front of her had done little more than look threatening. Then she thrust her hand directly into the path of one of the bursts of flame that the monster spat out.

“Amazing,” said Henricus. “She’s much braver than I would be. Now she knows for certain that the monster is an illusion.” Before he could instruct his men to close in, the young woman made her own move.

She plunged straight through the creature’s false image and rushed over to the collapsed section of the floor. Before anyone could reach her, she leapt across the vast gap, somehow made it almost to safety, and then could be heard scrabbling desperately for a handhold as her grasp slipped on the rain-splattered bricks at the edge of the abyss.

Henricus and Zulian could no longer see the young woman, because of the darkness enshrouding that section of the building. The crescent moon now hid behind rain clouds and the corner itself was too far away to be illuminated by the bonfire.

Henricus squinted into the darkness, fearing the worst. He could hear the occasional impacts of a few dislodged fragments of rock, but no sound of a body crashing down to the lower floors.

Then one of the searchers shouted out. “She’s made it to the stairwell! She’s going to get away!”

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Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Devri Walls lives in Meridian ID with her husband, two kids and the cutest must you've ever seen. After suffering from an abundance of creativity with not enough places to put it, she turned to writing. Which in the end, turned out to be exactly where she should have been putting it all along.

Q&A With The Author:

11.What is your favorite part of
writing?

The creating. I love making
something out of nothing. I love world building, character creation. And then
that amazing moment when that thing you created that was mostly garbage—because
all rough drafts are—transforms into something you’re really proud of.

6. Do you have any advice for other
writers?

Finish the book. Rough drafts are
always really bad. Like, really bad. Sometimes a novel needs to be trashed, but
often it just needs major revision. You have to polish the stone before you see
its beauty and it’s the same with stories. The other piece of advice is, hire
an editor. They are worth every penny.
AND, I have one more—develop a thick skin. You could write the most
brilliant book in the world and somebody will hate it. Don’t believe me? Pick
some of your favorites and go read their one star amazon reviews. It helps put
it in perspective for you.

Tybolt’s a Deviant, a hated race immune to direct magic in a world where Wizards ensure survival. But when he loses his entire family to a spell-made storm he joins an elite group of Wizard hunters, organized beneath the new non-magic wielding king.

Now eighteen, he spends his days capturing Wizards. But the nights are his, reserved to feed the starving villagers of Eriroc under cover of dark. There’s always more people in need than he can help, and one of these days he’s going to hang for theft from the royal kitchens.

Although Tybolt and his fierce partner, Auriela, have imprisoned many Wizards, the one partially responsible for the storm that killed Tybolt’s family is still out there: Alistair. When an old informant claims to have information regarding their elusive prey, everything changes.

In a cruel twist, Tybolt realizes he isn't who he thought he was at all. How can he save himself, the people, and those he loves while keeping his secrets safe? Can he hide his true nature and allow the corrupt king to remain on the throne?

Or will he have to unveil himself and risk possible execution to save them all?

Auriella
struggled within herself. She wanted to look away, to put on the blinders she’d
worn for so many years, but Tybolt seemed to have disarmed her..

What
she remembered of living amongst these people was cruelty and hate, but this
room and these faces…it looked nothing like she remembered. They were laughing
and dancing, but above all she saw what Tybolt wanted her to.

She’d
heard his comments time and again about how the people were starving. She’d never
looked at them closely enough to really see it. She’d always kept her eyes
above them. But now, this close, she could see arms that looked like the limbs
of a marionette—tendons and joints too defined, large and out of place.
Collarbones jutted out, spines were carved piece by piece on the backs of the
ladies—like children’s blocks carefully stacked. The men’s clothes hung, hiding
what was left of them, but speaking loudly as to the men they used to be.

And
despite her best efforts, her heart ached for the people who’d been the cause
of all her pain. Then suddenly she marveled at what she was really seeing and
wondered how they had mastered something while having nothing—something she’d
never been able to accomplish while having everything. “How are they so happy?”
she asked.

“I
think they’ve learned that grasping happiness wherever they can helps to ease
their misery.”

Suddenly Auriella marveled at what she was really seeing and
wondered how they had mastered something while having nothing—something she’d
never been able to accomplish while having everything. “How are they so happy?”
she asked.

“I
think they’ve learned that grasping happiness wherever they can helps to ease
their misery.”

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Monday, July 11, 2016

The kingdom of Bethany was once a beautiful place made up of five magical nations, each with their own special gifts. It all changed in a day, however, when the murderous dredgelings arrived. No one quite knows where they came from or how they keep multiplying, no matter how many are killed in the long, cruel war they’ve waged. All seems to be lost, until a human girl named Taylor is mistakenly transported to Bethany. Kane, the king over these nations, despises her whole-heartedly at first, and then she makes him laugh for the first time since the devastation began years ago. And the earthling manages to find new ways to surprise him with her valor and loyalty every single day. Unfortunately, Taylor’s only wish through their dangerous quest to reunite three magical stones and save the kingdom, aside from surviving this fearful place, is to return home.But as fate goes, she soon discovers the only way to recapture the stones and save the lives of the royals she’s come to love as her first real family is to give up any hope of ever returning to her old life. In the end it all comes down to what sort of hero she truly is, one to her own self, or one to entire nations.

April Marcom is a Pre-K teacher's assistant and mother of three. Her greatest passion, second only to her family and faith, is writing romance. Like the characters in her stories, there's nothing more important to her than the people she loves.

​April has enjoyed writing fiction since grade school, but only began pursuing publication in recent years. She is the author of such books as Good vs. Evil High and Wisteria and the Pirate Assassin. Besides writing, she loves baking, hiking, watching old movies, and dreaming of faraway places.

REBEL HEARTIn 1776, the American rebels were thwarted by British magic. The leaders were executed, but the surviving soldiers went into hiding and kept the revolution alive. By 1984 they have developed better weapons and machinery to even the odds. Now all these "technomancers" need is an army for their arsenal, and their newest recruit is 15 year-old Calvin Adler of Baltimore. The problem is, he’s got a pretty strong will, and might give the technomancers at bit of trouble in training...

SUICIDE RUNCalvin learns that the technomancers aren't all good guys like he'd thought, and soon runs afoul of the worst of them. Now, with a bomb in his chest and a lot of ground to cover, he has a little over a week to save his life, or else become another casualty in the revolution. Meanwhile, an old enemy comes back stronger than ever, with ambition to spare...

PATRIOT'S GAMECalvin is on the brink of death. The army is scattered, the commodore is dead, and the British mages know about the technomancers' secret weapon. Just as all hope seems lost, Calvin and his friends find out the mages have a weakness, one that could end the war overnight and liberate the colonials.But it will take a miracle to reach it...

Books that had a big impact on me over the
years. (This isn’t necessarily a “top” ten, but a list of ten books going all
the way back to my childhood.) In no particular order:OH, BROTHER by Johnniece Marshall Wilson. The same 3rd grade teacher that got me into
writing also gave me this novel, which was about two brothers with jarringly
different personalities who had to share a bedroom. I found a ton of parallels
in it when I considered my relationship with my own older brother (it’s written
from the POV of the younger brother.) I read it several times, just absorbing
it over and over, and as I reflect on it, I’m glad my teacher knew me well
enough to know what book would find a place in my being the way this one did.UNWIND by Neal Shusterman. I could write pages and pages about this book. Let me
just cite two things: first, Shusterman found a way to take a hot-button social
issue (abortion) and write a story about it that examined a very, very scary
solution to it…without revealing his own opinion on the matter. And second,
there’s one particular scene in the book that made me put it down and just not
say anything for a while. It kind of wrecked me, it was so powerfully written
and well thought-out, and it jarred my soul. If you’ve read this book, you know
which scene I’m talking about. Nobody could mistake it. I want to learn how to
do what Shusterman did in this book.

EDUCATION OF A WANDERING MAN by Louis L’Amour. If I hadn’t taken one of my college
English classes, I would never have read this. Louis L'Amour was a frontiersman
and a writer. These two things, plus his own views and philosophies about life,
history, the world, and his craft, made for an impactful combination, and I
find myself wanting to emulate a lot of his attitudes and methods on things. His
writing philosophies especially shaped my approach to historical fiction.

HARD MAGIC by Larry Correia. Oh, man. What a rip-roaring adventure.
This was the book that taught me never to hold back, that you don’t have to
have just one good idea in a story or a series or a world. If you want to have
magical secret wizards using X-Men style powers with awesome guns on airships
while they fight magical samurai in an alternate 1930s Prohibition-era America,
then by golly, why would you not? Because
if you write the dialogue and the narrative bits the way that you would write
any other serious piece of fiction, all of the cool bits are just icing on the
cake.

THE WITCHES by Roald Dahl. Another great book from my 3rd grade days.
I read the cover off this thing almost. I can only say that about a few books
in life, and most of them are on this list.

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Thursday, June 30, 2016

Miki Bennett is a stay at home wife who has an intense love for the beach. Her passions include art and various crafts where she has won numerous awards over the years. She also calls herself the resident family tech geek, always checking out the latest gadget that comes out on the market. Most of all, she loves visiting the beach as much as possible, trying to fit all family vacations close to an island or beach if possible.
Miki began working for her parent’s family business when she was just eight years old and continued until they sold the company in 2007. At this time, she wasn’t sure of her next step in life and started learning as much as she could about the things that interested her the most: website building, painting with acrylic paints, new crochet techniques, photography, and many other venues trying to find out her next stage in life. This lead to her newest pursuit: writing.
She lives in Charleston, South Carolina with her husband, Jeff and their little dog Emma. They are a blended family with three grown children thus consider themselves empty nesters. Miki graduated from high school and went on to the College of Charleston but her interests were so varied that she couldn’t decide on a particular degree so she decided to learn on her own. Her life long pursuit of knowledge has lead her in many directions.
Miki is also a cancer survivor after having treatment in 2002 for Uterine Cancer. In 2013, she was diagnosed with Mastocytosis, a rare, incurable disorder in which patients can have life threatening allergic type reactions to the simplest things even though they are not truly allergic to the item: food, water, sun, heat, cold, sound, etc. Miki had lived with symptoms since she was a teenager but was given one diagnosis after another ending up with twelve different ones before she found the true cause. And since she looked fine on the outside, many didn’t believe she truly was ill. Once receiving the correct diagnosis, she is now on a mission to help others who deal with “invisible diseases” since these can be so hard on the patients. To the outside world patients look perfectly healthy though inside they deal with symptoms both physically and mentally.

Unfortunately for Garrett Holmes and Skylar Cartwright, meeting and falling in love isn’t all smooth sailing into the Florida sunset.

Despite their mutual attraction and growing feelings for one another, Skylar’s rocky relationship with her wealthy parents and Garrett’s jealous research assistant, Casey, make life plenty hectic for the new couple.

When Skylar’s ex-boyfriend, Andrew, appears on the scene, things get really complicated, forcing Garrett and Skylar to question if love is enough to sustain them through the social storms.

An engaging and spirited romance story set against the luscious backdrop of the Florida Keys, Miki Bennett’s third novel will sweep you away to a world of warm sun and emerald waters.

“You could have your pick of any guy of means, if you would stick to your own kind of people. I mean, you chose a marine biologist. And then you are doing boat charters. You are a Cartwright. If you played your cards right, you wouldn’t want for anything for the rest of your life. That is, if your parents could get their act together too.” Skylar stood there, dumb- founded by Andrew’s remark.

“Why, Dad? Why would you talk to him of all people?” she said, pointing to Andrew.

“I was only doing what I thought was best. Garrett, I’m sorry, but you aren’t right for our daughter. She has such a bright future; plus, you are much older than she is,” Mr. Cartwright said forcibly, looking Garrett in the eye.

“So you want to destroy my life like you are destroying yours and Mom’s.” Skylar said it before she thought. She was so hurt, but she never intended to air private information about her family. She suddenly looked around, and the whole ball- room was eerily quiet. People were speaking in hushed tones. She knew all eyes were on her.

“Personally, Mr. Cartwright, I think that if it weren’t for Garrett, Skylar would have already been back here, where she belongs,” Andrew said smugly. The next sound that traveled across the room was of the slap of Skylar’s hand across his cheek.

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